(Vidalia POV)
I knew something had shifted the moment I stepped into the corridor.
Kyren wasn't storming off like he usually did. Geo wasn't smiling like a man with a harmless crush. No—there was weight in the air, the kind that clings to your skin and whispers danger in your ear.
I paused just long enough to scan their faces. Kyren's jaw was tight, his eyes narrowed in a way I hadn't seen since the ambush. Geo stood opposite him, posture loose, but something cold lurked behind the green-gold of his meadow eyes. My chest tightened.
"What's going on?" I asked, careful not to sound alarmed.
Kyren turned his head slightly. "Nothing worth your time."
Geo smiled at me, too slowly. "We were simply talking about how... protective Duke Kyren is. Especially when it comes to you."
It was a verbal dagger wrapped in silk.
Kyren's knuckles cracked as he crossed his arms. "If you're done talking, I suggest you leave."
I walked between them before Kyren could act on that threat. "I was actually on my way to the stables. Geo, would you walk with me?" I turned deliberately, avoiding Kyren's gaze.
It wasn't to punish him. I just needed space from the suffocating tension. Besides, I had questions.
Geo's gaze flicked to Kyren, then back to me. "Of course."
As we walked away, I felt Kyren's stare burning a hole in my back.
Outside, the air was cooler, laced with the scent of wet earth. I walked in silence for a moment before turning to Geo.
"You're not exactly subtle."
He smiled, the charming kind again. "Neither is he."
"I meant with me."
His gaze darkened for a second—only a second. "I've always been honest with you, haven't I?"
A flash of memory crossed my mind—faint but vivid. A younger me crying by the lakeside. A boy with odd eyes and a soft voice handing me a wildflower.
Wait… no. That's…
"Did we meet before?" I asked, eyes narrowing.
Geo looked at me like I'd handed him the sun. "Yes. But you were too young to remember."
I stopped walking. "How long have you known me?"
His silence was too long. Too practiced.
Before he could answer, a voice called from the castle.
"Lady Vidalia!"
It was Kahina. Her voice like a blade dipped in honey.
Geo turned slightly, his expression unreadable. "Your shadow calls."
I muttered a curse under my breath and turned to meet her. She was walking fast, lace skirts brushing along the stones. Her smile was everything but kind.
"Oh, there you are. I was just telling the maids how strange it was, you sneaking around with this one." She cast a dramatic glance at Geo, then tilted her head at me. "Aren't you engaged, darling?"
Geo didn't flinch. I did.
"Kahina, I suggest you keep your gossip to your tea circles," I said coolly.
She stepped closer. "Oh, I'd love to. But I think your fiancé might be very interested in how close you two have become."
Geo stepped forward then, slow and poised. "I would be very careful about accusing people of things you can't prove, Lady Kahina."
She blinked, faltered slightly. But then smiled. "Or what?"
"I don't make threats," Geo said, his tone light, almost amused. "Just observations. Like how you're always watching Vidalia like you want to wear her skin."
Kahina paled.
I gasped, not because it wasn't true—but because no one had ever said it.
"You've always been jealous," Geo continued calmly, "but now you're getting sloppy."
She opened her mouth to snap something back, but I was already done.
"Enough," I said sharply. "I don't need two men and a snake fighting over me in the stables."
I turned and left them both behind, my heart hammering. The moment I was out of sight, I leaned against the wall and exhaled.
Too much. Too fast.
(Kyren POV)
She left with him.
Of course she did.
I stood on the balcony longer than necessary, arms crossed, waiting for the anger to cool. It didn't.
Mark approached from behind. "You know he's baiting you."
"I know."
"And you're letting him win."
"I know."
Mark sighed. "We received something. Found near the south wall, where the intruders fled after the attack."
He handed me a folded cloth. I opened it.
A black insignia embroidered into the silk—one I hadn't seen in years.
I froze.
"Where did you find this?"
Mark lowered his voice. "Near the barracks. Hidden under a cart."
The emblem was unmistakable. A silver wolf's head with a ruby eye.
"He's not just a flirt," I murmured. "He's connected."
Mark frowned. "Geo?"
"I don't know yet." My voice dropped to a growl. "But I'll find out."
(Vidalia POV)
That night, I stood in front of my mirror, staring at my reflection as Tyla brushed out my hair.
"You alright, my lady?" she asked gently.
"No," I admitted.
Two men. One arranged, one familiar. And neither safe.
What scared me more wasn't their obsession—it was the piece of myself that responded to it.
Was it really a beast I was marrying?
Or had I just invited another one into the palace?
Vidalia
I didn't sleep.
Even with Tyla humming softly beside the fire, even with the moon casting a calm glow across the floor—I lay wide awake, thoughts tangled like threads in my mind.
Kyren had kissed me.
And for one brief, stolen moment… I wanted it.
That frightened me more than Geo's hidden past or Kahina's venom.
Because it meant something inside me was changing—whether I wanted it to or not.
A part of me wanted to go to Kyren's chambers. Ask questions. Demand answers. What did that kiss mean to you? Was it another power move, or was there something more? But I didn't.
Instead, I stood at the window, arms folded, eyes fixed on the far end of the garden.
And there he was.
Kyren. Shirtless. Training with his sword in the moonlight like a man possessed. His strikes were clean, precise, but laced with fury. Each blow was a war waged in silence.
I couldn't look away.
Tyla, noticing my stare, whispered, "He's been out there every night since the attack. Barely rests."
Of course he doesn't. That's what beasts do when they sense a challenge—they sharpen their claws.
And maybe… he sensed Geo's presence for what it was.
Not just a rival.
A threat.
(Kyren POV)
The rhythm of the sword was supposed to calm me.
Strike. Pivot. Slash. Reset.
But the ghost of Geo's smile wouldn't leave my mind.
He's dangerous—not because of strength. Because of strategy. A man who hides behind charm is never unarmed.
And Vidalia…
She's drawn to him.
I knew it. I felt it.
I didn't blame her. Geo looked like everything a woman should want. Sweet. Gentle. Safe.
But he wasn't.
And he'd made a mistake showing his hand too early. That little confrontation by the stables? Too calculated. Too… invasive.
He wanted me to react.
And I would. Just not in the way he expected.
I lowered my sword and wiped sweat from my brow. Mark approached from the trees.
"He's been asking around," he said quietly. "Geo. The servants said he's been slipping coins for information."
"What kind?"
"Your past. Your habits. Your weaknesses."
I smirked, sheathing my blade. "Then let's give him a few false ones."
Mark raised an eyebrow. "You're playing his game now?"
"No." I started walking back toward the castle. "I'm ending it."
(Vidalia POV)
The next morning, I didn't see Kyren at breakfast.
Or lunch.
Or the late afternoon ride I was scheduled for.
Instead, I received a folded note, pressed into my hand by a maid:
> "Meet me in the north wing library. Alone. –K"
The words pulsed with something electric.
I found myself walking faster than I should've. Faster than I wanted to admit.
The library was quiet, lined with ancient books and old secrets. Kyren stood near the window, dressed in black, arms crossed.
He looked like a man who'd just won a war.
"You called?" I asked, forcing calm.
He turned, eyes locking on mine. "You said once that I hide things from you. So here I am."
I blinked. "What does that mean?"
"It means…" he stepped forward, voice low, "I've done some digging. And Geo? He's not here for idle conversation."
My heart thudded.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," Kyren said darkly, "he's not who he pretends to be. And you need to stop treating him like a stray dog you can fix."
I bristled. "He's been kind to me."
"He's been watching you since you were a child."
The air dropped ten degrees.
I stepped back. "That's not possible."
Kyren held up the cloth Mark had found—the silver wolf insignia.
"This symbol?" he said. "It belonged to an elite order. Disbanded after they were caught experimenting on civilians. Geo's father was one of the leaders."
I stared at the cloth, blood draining from my face.
Kyren took a breath. "I'm not telling you this to scare you. I'm telling you because if you let him close, you're letting a shadow into your soul."
The room was silent.
Then, quietly, I said, "You think I can't decide who to trust?"
"I think he's manipulating you."
I didn't answer. Because part of me knew he was right.
But part of me was still angry.
"I can take care of myself," I said softly.
"I know." His voice lost its edge. "But I can't just stand back and watch someone sink their claws into you."
Something in his tone twisted my chest.
For a moment, it felt like more than duty.
It felt like care.
(Geo POV)
From a high balcony, I watched them.
Her brows furrowed in confusion. Kyren's hand, brushing her arm gently.
How sweet.
How utterly predictable.
He was winning her.
But that's the thing about beasts—they can't help but lose control eventually.
And when he does?
She'll need someone else to catch her.
Me.
I smiled.